House Votes To Let Keystone Proceed Without Obama's OK

Expert Analysis

• Good For Business: Florida's LLC Rewrite

  

  Representing a substantial evolution in Florida law, the Florida Revised Limited Liability Company Act will make the state a more desirable location for business owners to use an LLC for their business activities. Companies and counsel should familiarize themselves with a number of key changes to existing law, say Philip Schwartz and Andrew Schwartz of Akerman Senterfitt LLP.

• LNG Export Moratorium Has Ended — What Now?

  

  The U.S. Department of Energy's recent order ending a nearly two-year moratorium on liquefied natural gas export approvals provides important insight into how the department will consider pending and future export applications. However, it also raises many questions and indicates that the DOE will not back down from its controversial position on its authority, say attorneys with Day Pitney LLP.

• Contrasting 363 And Out-Of-Court Sales

  Excerpt from Lexis Practice Advisor

  

  In most respects, a bankruptcy sale is nearly identical to a sale of assets outside of bankruptcy. The differences lie in five specific areas, says Neil Herman of Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP.

• Corporate Leniency Should Come With A Warning Label

  

  When a client comes to the antitrust doctor with a case of “cartelitis," there is often a good news/bad news discussion. The benefits of the corporate leniency “cure” are well known, but the patient must understand the long list of unpleasant side effects before proceeding. And, in some situations, the best option may be to seek an alternative treatment, says Robert Connolly of DLA Piper.

• NY Creates Tax Uncertainty For Unauthorized Life Insurers

  

  In the past, surprisingly favorable tax treatment was afforded to life insurers that were not licensed to conduct business in New York but that owned real estate investments in the state. But following recent reinterpretation of New York Tax Law, some uncertainty has arisen with respect to how unauthorized life insurers should allocate income for franchise tax purposes, say attorneys with Duane Morris LLP.

• 1st Amendment Litigation: DC Circ. Edition

  

  The D.C. Circuit’s broadly framed decision in National Association of Manufacturers v. National Labor Relations Board confirms that businesses should evaluate any informational or warning obligations with an eye toward protecting their First Amendment rights, say attorneys with Wiley Rein LLP.

• When Rights Of Publicity Trump 1st Amendment

  

  An important practice tip that flows from the Third Circuit's opinion in Ryan Hart v. Electronic Arts Inc. is that talismanic invocation of the First Amendment does not resolve the legal problem of balancing that amendment with competing rights such as the right of publicity, says Ronald Katz of Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP.

• Contracting In A Perfect Storm Of Enforcement Risk: Part 1

  

  Recent legislative developments and shifting enforcement priorities have caused the risks posed by the False Claims Act and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act to spiral to astronomical levels. The interplay between these trends and increased reliance on administrative exclusion is potentially devastating to government contractors, say attorneys with Covington & Burling LLP.

• What You Should Know About Data Protection In Mexico

  

  The privacy notice guidelines required by Mexico's privacy law recently went into effect, and Mexico's Federal Institute of Access to Information has already imposed penalties on companies that have not complied. Companies operating in Mexico should immediately implement internal processes in order to prevent significant economic liabilities, says Javiera Medina of Littler Mendelson PC.

• The Starstruck Medical Causation Trend

  

  In the technical sense, medical causation answers whether an accused substance brought about some alleged disease. But rarely are the central causal allegations in major toxic torts purely courtroom affairs — publicity and politics now drive the litigation, with plaintiff verdicts begetting more publicity, says James Sabovich of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP.